Why It Matters
Without a clear picture of your funnel, you are marketing blindly. You might be spending heavily to attract visitors but losing most of them because there is nothing compelling at the next stage. A funnel gives you a framework for diagnosing problems. If plenty of people visit your site but nobody enquires, the issue is likely in the consideration or conversion stage rather than in awareness. That changes where you invest your time and budget. It also helps you build the right content and touchpoints for each stage, rather than trying to close a sale with someone who has only just heard of you. Lead generation sits at the top of this funnel, while a well-placed call to action is often what moves people from one stage to the next.
Example
A software company runs adverts that bring 10,000 visitors to their website each month. Of those, 500 download a free guide (interest), 100 sign up for a trial (consideration), and 20 become paying customers (conversion). By mapping this funnel, they spot that the biggest drop-off is between the guide download and the trial sign-up. They introduce a follow-up email sequence that addresses common concerns, and trial sign-ups climb to 160, doubling their customer intake without spending more on adverts. Browse the glossary for related terms.
